Gift-giving is an amazing way to increase human connection, friendship and reciprocity. We don’t give gifts enough to the people we love most. So, while we all know that Valentine’s Day is a commercial invention, at least it makes us think about our loved ones and our relationships—and that’s good.

My advice: Stick to the dinner-and-a-gift policy. And if it’s just too hard for you to do on Valentine’s Day, do it the day before.

In the past, water monitoring was done by humans in boats, which was time consuming (tốn thời gian) and expensive (đắt đỏ). The NUSwan robots can autonomously putter (đi thơ thẩn, lang thang, làm tà tà) about while measuring (đo đạc) water characteristics, including pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity (tính chất đục), and chlorophyll. The data are wirelessly uploaded to the cloud to be analyzed in real time, so that whoever is in charge of whether Singapore’s water is drinkable or not can immediately be notified if it isn’t.

Officers say the scheme will see them target younger men in designer clothes they seem unlikely to be able to afford legally – if it is not clear how the person paid for it, it will be confiscated (tịch thu, sung công).

The idea is to deter (ngăn chặn, làm nản lòng, nhụt chí) criminality (sự phạm tội, tính chất trọng tội) by sending a signal that the men will not be able to hang onto their ill-gotten gains.

…He [the police chief] said the young men targeted often have no income and are already in debt from fines for previous convictions but wearing expensive clothing.

This “undermines the rule of law” which sends “a completely false signal to local residents”, he explained.

In Japan, where old traditions are constantly being updated with new technology, one inn is making use of automated driving technology to offer the latest in hands-free hospitality - self-driving slippers.

Nissan has developed a system for slippers to 'park' themselves at the entrance of the traditional inn at the push of a button, ready for guests to use upon arrival.

Each slipper is equipped with two tiny wheels, a motor and sensors to 'drive' across the wooden lobby floor using Nissan's ProPilot Park technology.